How to nurture a long career in teaching: The Five Rs

How to nurture a long career in teaching: The Five Rs

In recent years, teaching has evolved into an even more
complex pursuit, with teachers constantly facing competing demands. To teach
successfully in today’s environment, there are several important attributes
every teacher should develop.

In recent years, teaching has evolved into an even
more complex pursuit, with teachers constantly being faced with competing
demands, increasingly diverse student groups, high levels of accountability and
the continual introduction of new requirements.

To teach successfully in today’s environment, there
are several important attributes every teacher should develop. Not only are graduating
teachers required to have relevant and up-to-date knowledge of their discipline
and well-rounded teaching know-how, they are also expected to develop the
capabilities that will give their career long-term sustainability, even as the
teaching environment continues to change at a rapid pace.

This is a big ask of our budding teachers, who often
have little time beyond their busy schedule to explore ways of making their own
experience more lasting and rewarding. For this reason, it’s vitally important
that tertiary education programs address the personal and professional
development aspects of teaching in order to instil these values in our new
teachers early on.

One way for educators to go about this is the 5Rs
framework developed by Macquarie University. When consciously adopted and
continuously developed, this method has demonstrated high-quality outcomes for
both teachers and their students.

Below are the Five Rs we should make a conscious
effort to enable for our budding teachers:

Resilience practiced inside and outside of the classroom.

In order to be more
resilient to the stresses of the teaching environment, teachers need to be
aware of, and maintain, their holistic health and sense of coherence. They need
the confidence and clarity of mind to manage uncertain and complex issues and unexpected
events whenever they arise in their career.

Teaching is demanding
for everyone; however, it has been observed that the teachers who thrive on
challenges are those who are able to draw on their personal resources and the
social and structural supports around them.

Educators are aware
that we are losing some of our best teachers early in their career, with
research telling us that 30 to 50 per cent of teachers leave the
profession in the first five years. By facilitating the development of resilience
in new teachers, educators will aid in mitigating this attrition rate among new
teachers.

Reflexive in their teaching practice.

Teaching is about
understanding multiple and changing ecologies of learning. This encompasses
individual students’ needs, the affordances of classroom spaces, student and
teacher relationships, curriculums, school culture, parental expectations,
community demographics and needs and expectations of the profession, and the
effects of government policy.

Teachers must recognise
and mediate all these elements, along with their own motivations and
priorities. A reflexive approach to teaching assists in making effective and
impactful decisions that ensure quality student outcomes on a daily basis.

Responsive to students, colleagues, parents and professional communities.

Teaching is a
relational profession. The best teachers make deep connections with their students,
parents and communities. Most of us remember a great teacher, not because of
what they taught, but because they were inspiring. They engaged us
through the personal connections they made with us, and their recognisable care
for our wellbeing and success.

Ready to learn.

When teachers graduate
from university, they are far from the end of their learning journey, but
rather just at the beginning.

The ongoing pursuit of
learning is a mark of a quality teacher. There are always new methods and ideas
to try. But in practice, learning needs are not a one-size-fits-all affair.
Teachers need to identify their individual learning needs within the context of
their career. Then, they can pursue that learning to the benefit of both
themselves and their students.

Research engaged throughout their career.

Effective teaching
practice is based on evidence. This evidence can come from their own research
in the classroom and the latest academic research in learning, teaching,
motivation, cognition, curriculum, technologies and spaces, to name a few. A
critical understanding of data is essential, allowing it to be analysed and
woven back into practice.

Data can be big or
small – both types are equally important. Big data includes large-scale
standardised testing, which is great for identifying unfolding trends in the
teaching sector. Small data includes things like classroom assessment, which
gives us details about how and why students are succeeding or failing in
specific areas.

The 5Rs framework can help teachers stay focused on
what’s important. It can give teachers the confidence to keep at their career,
strive for personal improvement and maximise their positive impact on students.
The last thing we want is for our best teachers to burnout or to leave the
profession. We need to make a conscious effort to equip them with the tools
they need to thrive, so they can inspire our great minds of tomorrow.

Professor Mary Ryan is the Head of the Department of Educational Studies at Macquarie
University